Interstate 294

Interstate 294
Tri-State Tollway Tri-State Toll Road
Route information
Maintained by ISTHA
Length:	53.45 mi[1] (86.02 km)
Existed:	1957 (completed 1968) – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-80 / I-94 / IL 394 in South Holland
	I-80 in Hazel Crest I-57 in Blue Island I-55 in Indian Head Park I-88 / I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) in Hillside I-90 / I-190 in Rosemont
North end:	I-94 in Northbrook
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Illinois State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Tollways ← I-290 IL 336 →

Interstate 294 (I-294) is a tolled Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at Interstates 80 and 94, and Illinois Route 394 to Northbrook at I-94. Interstate 294 is 53.42 miles (85.97 km) long; 5.32 miles (8.56 km) are shared with I-80.^[1] It serves as a bypass around the city of Chicago. Interstate 294 is also the longest auxiliary route of Interstate 94, being 10 miles longer than Interstate 494 in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Interstate 294 is also the longest auxiliary interstate highway in Illinois.

Route description

Interstate 294 has four of the Tri-State Tollway's five mainline barriers. These are located at:

• 163rd Street
• 82nd Street (Southbound)/83rd Street (Northbound)
• Cermak Road
• Irving Park Road (Illinois Route 19) (Southbound)/ Touhy Ave. (Northbound)

The fifth is on I-94 near Waukegan.

The full length of Interstate 294 is 8 lanes wide (4 lanes each direction). Prior to 2006, only the portion between O'Hare (Interstate 90) and 95th Street (U.S. 12/U.S. 20) was 8 lanes, with the remainder being 6 lanes. In 2009, The Illinois Tollway Authority completed reconstruction on the remainder of Interstate 294, expanding the tollway from 6 to 8 lanes from 95th Street to its Southern terminus at the Kingery Expressway, and from Interstate 90 to its Northern terminus at Interstate 94 in Northbrook.

History

The portion of the Borman Expressway that was completed from Gary westward and the Kingery Expressway were originally designated as I-80, 90, and 294 from shortly after the Interstate Highway program was enacted until about 1965, when the connection between the Borman and the Indiana Toll Road was completed, and I-90 was swapped with I-94 west of that junction (and east of where those routes share the same road in Chicago), cutting back I-294 to its current south terminus (eliminating the Indiana part of I-294). Indiana later proposed to extend Interstate 294 east on the current Borman Expressway to Indiana State Route 912, before having it turn north at that point, west at U.S. Highway 12, and then back to I-94, most likely somewhere on the Bishop Ford Expressway near 130th Street. The request was denied.

From 1991-1993, the 23 mile portion of Interstate 294 between Interstate 90 and U.S. Route 12/U.S. Route 20 (95th Street) was reconstructed and expanded from 3 to 4 lanes in each direction.^[2] In 2006, reconstruction to widen the Southern portion of the tollway, where I-80 and I-294 are multiplexed, was completed in conjunction with simultaneous projects on the Borman and Kingery Expressways, expanding this portion of the tollway from 6 to 8 lanes. By late 2009, additional reconstruction projects on the remainder of the tollway were completed, bringing the entire length of Interstate 294 to 8 lanes wide (4 lanes each direction).

Interstate 294 was built largely before the growth and maturation of the suburbs that run along Interstate 294. As a result, the vast majority of the interchanges are partial, or were configured to have entrance ramps feeding the toll plazas. "Gaps" between exit ramps are common, the 6.5 mile (10.5 kilometer) gap between Cicero Avenue (Illinois 50/83) and 95th Street (U.S. 12/20) being one of the more notable ones. Partial interchanges are located at Roosevelt Road (Illinois Route 38) (northbound exit, southbound entrance), Irving Park Road (Illinois 19) (southbound exit, northbound entrance), Touhy Avenue (northbound exit, southbound entrance), Dempster Street (U.S. 14) (northbound exit, southbound entrance), and Golf Road (Illinois 58) (southbound exit, northbound entrance). Several former partial interchanges have been converted to full interchanges, with automated toll collection facilities on the new ramps, such as at 159th Street (U.S. 6) (northbound on and southbound off added), and 95th Street (U.S. 12/20) (southbound on and northbound off added). The 79th Street exit was moved to 75th Street/Willow Springs Road, and made a complete interchange in the same manner.

Future

I-294 northbound in Indian Head Park ¹⁄₂ mile (0.80 km) south of the Hinsdale Oasis

The Move Illinois Project is currently building an interchange with I-57. Phase one opened on October 25, 2014; phase two is expected to be completed by 2023/2024. Phase one also included a partial interchange between I-294 and 147th Street.

Exit list

The entire route is in Cook County.

Location	mi[1][3]	km	Exit[4]	Destinations	Notes
South Holland	0	0	0	I-80 east / I-94 / IL 394 south – Chicago, Danville, Indiana	Southern terminus; southern end of I-80 concurrency
	1	2	Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis
East Hazel Crest	3	5	2	IL 1 (Halsted Street / 800 West)	Signed as exit 2A (north) and exit 2B (south)
	4	6	4	Dixie Highway	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Hazel Crest	5	8	5	I-80 west to I-57 – Iowa	Northern end of I-80 concurrency
	6	10	163rd Street Toll Plaza
Markham	6.5	10.5	6	US 6 (159th Street)	Signed as exit 6A (east) and exit 6B (west)
Blue Island			7	I-57 south – Memphis	Southbound exit northbound entrance only; full interchange opening 2023–24; I-57 north exit 349. Formerly exit 8
			8	IL 83 (147th Street)	Southbound exit northbound entrance; formerly exit 9; Opened October 25, 2014
Alsip	12	19	12	IL 50 (Cicero Avenue / 4800 West) / IL 83 (127th Street)	Signed as exit 12A (south) and exit 12B (north) northbound
Hickory Hills	17.5	28.2	17	US 12 (95th Street) / US 20 / 76th Avenue	Signed as exit 17A (east) and exit 17B (west) southbound; no northbound signage for 76th Avenue
	19.5	31.4	83rd Street Toll Plaza (northbound)
	20	32	82nd Street Toll Plaza (southbound)
Justice	21	34	—	US 12 / US 20 / US 45 (LaGrange Road) / IL 171 (Archer Avenue)	Southbound entrance only
Des Plaines River			Mile-Long Bridge
Hodgkins	22	35	22	75th Street / Willow Springs Road (10800 West)
Indian Head Park	23	37	23	I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) – Chicago, St. Louis	Signed as Exit 23A (north) and Exit 23B (south) northbound; no exit number southbound; no southbound entrance from I-55 south
	24	39	23B	Wolf Road (11200 West)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Hinsdale	25	40	Hinsdale Oasis
Western Springs	28	45	27	US 34 (Ogden Avenue) – Downers Grove, LaGrange	Signed as exits 27A (east) and 27B (west)
Hillside	29	47	29	I-88 / IL 110 (CKC) west (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) – Aurora	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	29.5	47.5	29	Cermak Road / 22nd Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	30	48	Cermak Road Toll Plaza
	30.5	49.1	30	IL 38 (Roosevelt Road / 1200 South)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as Exit 30A (eastbound) and Exit 30B (westbound)
	31	50	31A	I-88 / IL 110 (CKC) west (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) – Aurora	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	32	51	31B	I-290 / IL 110 (CKC) east (Eisenhower Expressway) – Chicago	Signed as exit 31 northbound
Berkeley	34	55	33	I-290 west (Eisenhower Expressway) to US 20 / IL 64 – Rockford	Signed as exit 31 northbound
Franklin Park	38	61	O'Hare Oasis
	38.5	62.0	38	IL 19 (Irving Park Road (4000 North))	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; signed as Exit 38B (west) and Exit 38A (east)
	39	63	Irving Park Toll Plaza (southbound)
Rosemont			39	Balmoral Avenue	Electronic toll collection only (I-Pass/E-ZPass) opened December 13, 2011;[5] northbound exit and southbound entrance
	40	64	40A	I-190 west (Kennedy Expressway) / River Road – O'Hare	Signed as exit 40 northbound
	41	66	40B	I-90 (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway / Kennedy Expressway) – Rockford, Chicago	Signed as exit 40 northbound
Park Ridge	42	68	Touhy Avenue Toll Plaza (northbound)
	42	68	42	Touhy Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Des Plaines	44.5	71.6	44	US 14 (Dempster Street)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	45	72	45	IL 58 (Golf Road)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Glenview	49	79	48	Willow Road
Northbrook			52	Lake–Cook Road	Northbound exit southbound entrance
	50.5– 53	81.3– 85	—	I-94 east (Edens Expressway) – Chicago I-94 west (Tri-State Tollway) – Wisconsin	Northern terminus; access via Edens Spur
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       ETC       Incomplete access

References

1. Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2006). "T2 GIS Data". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
2. P. Davis Szymczak (September 27, 1991). "Widening of Tri-State could begin in October". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
3. System Map (Map). Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
4. "Toll Rates by Plaza (For Years 2009+)" (PDF). Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
5. Wronski, Richard (December 13, 2011). "New Tri-State Ramp Opens at Balmoral Avenue in Rosemont". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 1, 2015.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Kurumi's 3di page: Interstate 294
• Illinois Highway Ends: Interstate 294